Popularity of the mini van, the sport utility vehicle (SUV) and the recreational vehicle has resulted in increased demand for improved collapsible furniture and particularly collapsible portable furniture of the outdoor type which may be readily stowed in a vehicle and conveniently manually transported to a picnic area or the site of a spectator event, as, for example, a golf tournament, air show, outdoor concert or sporting event where bring your own seating accommodation is the rule. Considerable attention has been directed to the provision of improved collapsible furniture for the sportsman, hunter, fisherman, hiker, biker and the like. However, the resulting furniture designs and particularly the designs for chairs and seats have usually incorporated some reduction in size, as compared to the full-sized article, with a corresponding reduction in the level of seating comfort. The wooden beach chairs and lawn furniture of an earlier era has generally been replaced by light-weight tubular metal furniture of a more modern design. However, little has been done to optimize the collapsibility and portability of the full-sized article, which is the goal of the present invention.